By Robert Lyttle
If you haven't seen the commercials for this new console from Nintendo or heard any of the hype, I would suggest taking a good look around to try and find one of these amazing, innovative gaming systems. I picked up my Wii on Black Friday and consider myself very lucky. The store I waited in front of, from 11pm until they opened at 7am only had 5 Wii units available and since I was 5th in line, I was a lot more fortunate then the 15 people behind me. After my long night I promptly went home and caught some Z's only to be awoken by my eager kids and even more eager wife a few hours later.
We all gathered around for the opening of the box and we all got our first true look at the console. My first impressions were obviously based around the color and design of the hardware and the uniqueness of the controller (wii-remote). The unit was very small compared to that of Sony's Playstation 3 and Mircosoft's Xbox 360 and is about the size of 3 dvd cases stacked on top of one another. The unit can function both horizontally and vertically and fits above my TV with all my other gadgets perfectly, yeah score 1 for Nintendo. The hook up of the Wii went flawlessly, it has 3 cables, one for the power to the unit, one for the analog hook up for your television (HD cables hopefully will come soon) and one for the sensor bar which can either sit on top of your TV or below, depending on your individual needs. The sensor bar detects your movements from the Wii-remote, which is part of the reason this machine is totally different from its competitors. After the hook up of the system it was time to power it on and run through the set up program. You start by giving your Wii a name, ours is called Wee Wii. I know, I know, not the most pleasant name, but you can always change your Wii's name at a later time. After that stage, if you have a Wi-Fi internet connection the Wii will access it and it will remain connected to the internet even while the power to the Wii is off. Having an internet connection will let the Nintendo update and send downloads to your console. Internet browsing capabilities should be available for the Wii in the 1st quarter 2007. Now your Wii is set up and its time to create your character(s) also known as Mii's.
The Mii creator is a very fun aspect of the system and it allows you to customize the look of your characters. You can change your height, weight, hair style, hair color, eyebrows, facial structure, facial hair and many other aspects to create your unique Mii. Although the Mii's are kind of cartoony looking, in the end you will be able to represent yourself pretty accurately. Eventually your Mii characters will wander around and be downloaded to other owner's consoles across the world, chat features are soon to come as well. Enough about Mii creation lets move on to the fun stuff.
The Nintendo Wii was launched with Wii sports a collection of five sporting games. Boxing, bowling, tennis, golf and baseball are included and those five games should be enough to keep you busy until you have the opportunity to collect other games. At a first glance of the games, where you use your designed Mii characters to play, the graphics are nice, but still cartoony. The graphics are not intended to be the highlight of this system, but rather the use of the wii-remote is where this console excels over all others. Holding the controller in hand (be sure to use your wrist strap at all times) you can really get a feel for being in the game rather than just play a game. If you are playing tennis you would hold the wii-remote as if you holding a tennis racket and overhand swing or backhand swing your way to glory. Boxing is by far the most intense game released with the sports package. You have to use the wii-remote in your primary hand and connect the secondary remote (nunchuck) and use it in your other hand. You can jab by extending your arm(s) straight forward and right or left cross either to the head or body by swing your arms like a real boxer would. You can also hold your hands up in front of your face or body to block incoming punches as well as sway side to side to dodge punches. The innovativeness, interactivity and absolute exercise while having a total blast is what will take Nintendo to the top of the gaming food chain. This system will please all parents across the globe.
In my humble opinion, the Nintendo Wii will take kids (and parents) off of the couch and into the game. With a moderate price tag of $249.99, the Wii is cheaper than most exercise equipment and will produce the same calorie burning results, for you and your family. I know my kids would never spend any amount of time performing exercises, but what they don't know will not hurt them. The Wii is very cleaver and disguises exercise with playing your favorite games. "Nintendo Wii, turning couch potatoes into controller wielding athletes".
About the Author: Nintendo supporter since 1/10/1985 Owner and Developer of our Family based website Wiitod.com
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